Jury Award of $260K to Waitress Injured in Restaurant Premises Liability Case Upheld by Appellate Court

Plaintiff was a waitress who was employed by defendant restaurant for almost four years. The waitress slip and fell on a wet and soapy floor after being ordered by her boss to deliver food to a table that arrived after closing hours. The patrons being served were friends of the restaurant owner. The busboy had already washed a portion of the floor, and the late arrivals selected a table in an area of the restaurant where the floor was still wet. 

Recognizing a potentially hazardous situation, the waitress refused twice to carry food over the wet floor to serve the owner’s friends. She was the only waitress working, however, and her boss insisted that she serve the table despite the wet floor. She agreed to do so because for fear of losing her employment. In the process of providing service the waitress fell and suffered injuries that required surgery and resulted in long-term loss of strength due to arthritis that impaired her ability to work.  The jury returned a verdict in favor of the injured waitress. The restaurant then filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial. The trial court denied the motion and the defendant appealed. 

The appellate court addressed the “open and obvious” considerations of a premises liability claim. It also discussed Michigan Supreme Court rulings on what constituted an effectively unavoidable hazard. The appellate court upheld the trial court’s decision to preserve the verdict because encountering the open and obvious condition was effectively unavoidable. She was compelled by extenuating circumstances to confront the hazard. The court also found that the defendant did not provide sufficient evidence of its defenses.  The appellate court ruled that there was evidentiary support for the jury’s verdict and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the motion for remittitur. The trial court’s ruling was affirmed.

The case is Daher v. Al-Saha Restaurant Inc. et al, No. 352995, Wayne Circuit Court, LC No. 17-009454-NO. 17-009454-NO. 

Click on the link to read the full court opinion.